Mexican Wedding Cookies

One year I was teaching, the students made food for a project. This is one of the recipes I kept because it was so good! Enjoy!

1 c butter, softened

3/4 c sifted powdered sugar

2 c all-purpose flour

1 t vanilla (Mexican is the best)

1 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)

powdered sugar

1. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add 3/4 cup powdered sugar, beating well. Add flour, mixing well. Stir in vanilla and pecans.

2. Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased baking sheet.

3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool slightly. Roll warm cookies in additional powdered sugar. Cool completely on wire racks.

MAKES ABOUT 4 DOZEN

Fiesta Friday

Today I am really having a fiesta!! I am officially done teaching...at least for now. I've been a Spanish teacher for 6 years (with a 2 year break in the middle to do mission work in Toluca, Mexico). I've really enjoyed teaching, especially these last 3 years. I found out I was pregnant in January (due in September), and I've always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, so it wouldn't work to continue teaching next year! Finals were this week and yesterday was my last day of in-service. Today is summer day #1!
I am so excited about the baby coming...and any future children (which will make my teaching break longer)! Life is going to be so different! I'm going to have time for my coupons, CVS trips, sewing, scrapbooking, getting organized, decorating the baby's room and everything else I've had to put off until the summer! Sure I'll miss my students and the teacher-friends I have, but the future is more exciting right now!!
The only Spanish thing on my mind right now is...SIESTA!

Thrifty Thursday

I have done a little traveling while I lived in Mexico and Spain. I have also been to El Salvador and Costa Rica for vacation. There are tons of ways to save money in Spanish-speaking countries and I'd like to share those on Thursdays. I also would like to share my deals for the week (if I have any). If you have any suggestions, please feel free to comment!
I have not traveled with a child (since I'm pregnant with our first). While I lived in Mexico, I learned that it was way cheaper to buy where the locals buy instead of going to Wal-Mart or another chain. That meant I would head to the market on market day. What an adventure--tons of people, crowded areas, crazy smells and sights, and pick-pockets. Just make sure that you know what you're looking for and what "section" it might be in. Vegetables are the best to buy here cheap! Even if you're visiting for vacation, make sure you check out the local market just to experience it!

Workout Wednesday

Keep up your skills from yesterday's lesson by going to Colores to practice. Then point to various items that are around your child and ask them "De que color es..." If they are too young for this activity, then point to an item and tell them what color it is in Spanish (review pronunciation from yesterday if you need to).
If you are self-conscious about speaking in Spanish, don't worry about it! If you're saying something wrong and say it in front of a Spanish-speaker, they will probably just be excited that you're trying to learn their language. Your kids won't know until they start taking Spanish in school that they're pronouncing words wrong and that can be corrected easily. Keep trying! It is a slow process, but you'll find that it is worth it.
It is important to be introduced to a second language early. Studies show that the earlier a person tries to learn a language, the easier it will be for them to acquire it (that's why kids can pick up another language faster than adults). Can you imagine when you're driving down the road and your son says, "Verde" when he points to the grass outside?! How exciting!!

Translation Tuesday

Since I'm pregnant and have many friends who have little kids, I wanted to start off with some basic vocabulary you can use with your kids. If you have any suggestions, please leave me a comment and I'll make sure and get to them in a future post.

Colores:
amarillo — yellow
anaranjado — orange
azul — blue
blanco — white
plateado — silver
dorado — golden
gris — gray
marrón (or cafe) — brown
negro — black
morado — purple
rojo — red
rosado (or rosa) — pink
verde — green

Here are some great sites to help you pronounce the words correctly: Learning Spanish
Study Spanish
Basic Spanish Vocabulary

Mexican Dish Monday

Usually I'm trying to keep my cooking time and cost to a minimum. I have a few favorite recipes that I cook pretty often that don't require much time and taste pretty good. I plan to include some of those here as well as some that are new that I haven't tried (but that I plan to try).

Here is an old stand-by in my family--it can be made for 2 or 20.

Crushed Chip Taco Salad

tortilla chips

cheese

lettuce and tomatoes

beans, jalapenos or anything else you want to add!

ground beef or turkey browned

Taco seasoning packet (follow directions on packet)

In my family, we crush the chips on a plate, add the seasoned meat and top with whatever we want. It is pretty cheap and can be made quickly for last minute guests. Enjoy!

Since I love Spanish...

Usborne has some of their Spanish children's books on 70% clearance. I got one in my last order called "Mascotas." It's a GREAT book and was $2.99. Each page has a little puzzle for the baby to put together and something to "touch" (fuzzy ears, etc.). If you're interested in seeing the Spanish flyer, click here.

You can then order the items at my page here.

There is a ton of research that says teaching your child another language as early as possible will help them acquire it easier. This includes just seeing the words (if you don't know how to correctly pronounce them). Every little bit helps prepare them for future learning (belive me!!).

I've been...busy?

Hello! Well, things have been crazy and I've been too busy to coupon, CVS, be frugal... We are trying to pack up our house so we can move to another house, I'm trying to finish out the school year and we're enjoying time together before the baby comes! I am really looking forward to the summer though! It will be nice to relax.
My friend Tres Alejandros became an Usborne consultant recently and it sounded like a great deal, so I also joined in! I got a great deal because she was in her incentive period and I got the start-up kit for half price (regularly $199). This is great because I can have a little income when I'm not teaching next year. I also get free books and these are REALLY great children's books! So if you're interested in becoming a consultant, hosting a party near me, or hosting an eShow, let me know!! EShows are easy--you just e-mail people and tell them to buy books from the site and then you get free books for the purchases they make! I just hosted a party and sold $265 worth and got $85 worth of FREE books! What a deal!!
Oh yeah, here is my Usborne page.

Prego...it's in there!

Well, I've been out of touch with this website a lot lately. I actually have been taking a break from CVS, Walgreens and coupons. I had about 15 stacks of coupon booklets to cut out previously and they sat there for many weeks. They are still mostly all sitting in the same spot. Maybe I'll pick this back up during the summer when I have some more time.

We found out a little while ago that I'm pregnant and due on Sept. 30. We are very excited. Today was doctor visit #2 and we got to hear the heartbeat for the first time! It was amazing!! Here are pictures from our ultrasound. Enjoy and I'll catch up on here later!

I'm behind!

I have been so out of it lately that I haven't even cut out my coupons in about 3 weeks. YIKES! I have been to CVS and Walgreens, but have only cut out and used the coupons that showed to be a really good deal. Like last week at Walgreens, I bought 2 deoderants, Bayer, toothpaste, and 4 packs of 17 stick gum for $2.76. At CVS, I spent 10 ECB and $.07 to get a Heath bar, 2 apple juice bottles, Excedrin, 2 toothpastes, Gatorade G2 and shave gel. I think I got a little over 5 ECBs back. We'll see what happens this week at CVS. Maybe I'll be better with the coupons--only one pack, so i can get caught up from the other weeks!